India To Hold Quad Security Dialogue With US, Japan And Australia This Week

India To Hold Quad Security Dialogue With US, Japan And Australia This Week

The US has stepped up its efforts to hedge China in the Indo-Pacific region, even as the two largest economies are engaged in a trade war by slapping tariffs on their imports

NEW DELHI: The third round of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, since it was revived last November, will be held this week in Singapore on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Senior officials of the four countries will discuss ways to balance China’s growing ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region, share their perspectives on the geopolitics in the region, and emphasise on the centrality of ASEAN for the Quad process, people familiar with the agenda of the meeting told ET.

The US has stepped up its efforts to hedge China in the Indo-Pacific region, even as the two largest economies are engaged in a trade war by slapping tariffs on their imports.

This will be the second Quad meet this year. It will be held at the level of joint secretary. The last round in June, too, was held in Singapore. Then, the four sides had reaffirmed their support for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and noted their commitment to promote rules-based order.

The four countries had decided to organise a meeting of Quad every six months, sources told ET.

While larger goal of Quad is to balance China in the Indo-Pacific region, both India and Japan view it as one of many plurilaterals to keep the Indo-Pacific region stable.

Other formats involving India also include ASEAN countries besides Russia and China, signalling New Delhi’s inclusive approach as espoused by PM Modi at the Shangrila Dialogue in June. Modi, who will address the EAS, his fifth since 2014, will also meet some of the regional and world leaders, including US V-P Mike Pence, on the sidelines of the summit.